To Help The Blushing Schoolboy
by Ein Auftragskiller
Summary: Hiiragizawa Eriol has the biggest hopeless crush on a certain heiress. His 5 kids from the future had to go back in time just to help their father. A blushing and fainting Eriol. Implied canon pairings. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: First and foremost, I would like to thank **Hidden Tala **for being an inspiration to this fic. Years ago, I've read her work, **Now and Forever, **and I found it great. It has a kind of heavy feel, so I wanted to do a lighter version of her idea. I thank her for being such a good sport when I asked her permission to do this fic.

Err yeah... this is my idea of / attempt at humor...

* * *

PROLOGUE

"Son," a middle-aged Hiiragizawa Eriol cautiously approached his first-born who was almost the exact replica of his younger self, sans the purple eyes, "could you pick up Little Eriol in the nursery as he is about to cry any minute now?"

"Oh, you mean _Kurorii _otousan," Hiiragizawa Eiri emphasized the nickname of his youngest brother. As the fifth and avowed last-born child, Little Eriol was named after his father and it caused quite a confusion among the household. Thanks to an incident wherein the little tot had managed to cover himself with soot, his mother decided, firmly if I may just add, that the nickname was just perfect.

"Ah yes," Eriol pointedly ignored the _accursed _nickname, but he visibly cringed as he remembered the saccharine smile his wife gives him whenever she insists on calling their son by such name. He would not give-up his being the namesake, but alas, he's only that strong against his wife's wishes. "And check up on Yoru-kun too, I bet he's up to no good."

'_For someone who insists he doesn't use magic anymore, he sure knows A LOT about what's going on,' _Eiri thought as he raised an eyebrow. He was about to turn his back to comply with his father's requests when his attention was called back.

"And Eiri-kun, it IS the 25th already, is it not?"

After he replied in the affirmative, his father gave him his Cheshire Cat Grin™ and it made him think that the older man was the one who was up to no good.

* * *

"Sonoko-chan, where are you?" Tomoyo entered her daughter's bedroom and was astonished to see the biggest pile of clothes in the middle of the room. A rustle was heard before the top part of the pile slid-off to reveal a dark-haired head.

"Over here okaasan! Whew! I thought I was going to suffocate back there!" Sonoko extracted herself from the pile before she flipped her long straight hair over her shoulders to bring back some semblance of order into her person.

"Are you all right dear? What were you doing there in the first place?" a hint of worry crept into Tomoyo's voice. Between being a famous fashion designer with a natural penchant for clothes, and having a husband who couldn't say no to their daughter's whims, Tomoyo should not have been surprised that her daughter would posses enough clothes to... well... endanger her life as to say.

"I'm fine okaasan. I was just looking for a particular tank top with this shade of blue. They say it matches my eyes very well," a pair of midnight blue orbs stared at purple ones as if pleading for help.

"All right, all right, I'll help you look for it," Tomoyo started rummaging through the pile, roughly folding the clothes and segregating them by colors.

"What would I do without you okaasan?"

"That is really sweet my dear. But that could actually be a problem. You should start taking your responsibilities more seriously. You are the woman of the house when I am not around. Your siblings are still quite young. They would need guidance from a firm hand. In this house, we are dominated by men, but we are the silent source of their strength. You may have the privilege of having an older brother, and I admit that most of the responsibilities repose with him, but you are the one with the stronger personality. If things get too tough for him, please do lend him your support. I trust you to be better in keeping your head once faced with an overwhelming predicament," Tomoyo's voice was filled with more worry than the situation warrants.

"What's wrong okaasan? Are you and otousan going away for a vacation or something?" Sonoko felt the strange pensive mood her mother was in.

"Iie, not really. But we'll never know, won't we?" Tomoyo gave a sweet smile to her daughter that managed to erase the apprehension the younger female was feeling.

* * *

"Kurorii, don't move about too much, what is it that you want?" Eiri was balancing his 14-month old brother in his arms.

"Eiri-nii no baka," Sonoko affectionately teased her brother as she slipped into the nursery, "Kurorii wants to go outside the room, can't you see him flailing his arms and pointing at the door?"

"Aa! _Erini, Kurori, _out! _Erini _out!" Kurorii puffed at the stray strands of almost black hair that fell across his purple eyes.

"See? He wants to go out,"

"But he's supposed to take his nap right now. And I thought he was chasing me out of the room when he kept yelling 'out'," Eiri sheepishly grinned at his sister.

"Just because he chases you out most of the time, it doesn't mean he doesn't want you near him all the time. It's your fault for always hiding his favorite toy. Come on, I'll take him," Sonoko reached out her arms while Kurorii stretched out his pudgy arms to meet hers.

"Thanks, I'm supposed to check up on Yoru-kun afterwards. Dad sensed that the little menace is up to some mischief—"

"'Niisan, 'neesan," Tomoko rushed into the room, her dress and face smudged with some dust or dirt, "Yoru-niisan went into the shed and opened the door to the room otousan forbade us to go into!"

The two eldest of the siblings looked at each other with alarm in their eyes. That room was where their father stored his paraphernalia for magic. Both of them stumbled into the said room by accident when they were aged twelve and eleven respectively, that's why they've learned of its existence. Yoru, Tomoko, and of course Kurorii were still too young to be exposed to equipment which would enhance their magical powers. The three were still to be taught, and they should first master, how to control their powers before their father would let them into the room.

In their haste, they didn't realize that they've taken Kurorii with them to the shed. As the siblings neared the room, they could hear Yoru's voice reading something out loud. Eiri pushed open the door and saw Yoru sitting in the middle of the room, with his legs crossed and a book spread out in front of him.

"The key that hides the forces of darkness, reveal your true form to me. I, Eriol, command you under our contract?" Yoru continued on reading out loud either oblivious of or pointedly ignoring the presence of his siblings.

"Yoru! What are you doing?!" Eiri stomped his way into the room and approached the bespectacled boy in the middle of the room.

Eiri was about to snatch the book away from Yoru when suddenly, Little Eriol yelled, "Ri-riisu!"

They all found themselves being swallowed by a blinding white light.

Tsuzuku

* * *

Author's Notes:

Regarding the names of the kids, I really killed myself to come up with _suitable _names.

Eiri – meaning Crystal Village. In a basic Jap Class I attended, our sensei taught us to pronounce "ei" as "eh". I don't know if it's applicable to all "ei" used in Nihongo. But I chose the name Eiri because of the first letters of Eriol's name.

Sonoko – meaning Garden's Child. She was named after her grandmother Sonomi ("beautiful garden")

Yoru – meaning Night. It's a common generic word and is not often used for names. But I chose it as it is the second part of Eriol's name. (Eri + Yoru - Eriyoru - Eriol)

Tomoko – meaning Wise Child. She was named after her mother Tomoyo ("wise era/person")

Kurorii – kuro means black. I got the nickname from Kurogane of Tsubasa Chronicles. I chose it because it's supposed to sound like Clow Reed (clow-kuro; reed-riido)

* * *

Next chapter's preview:

Eighteen-year-old Hiiragizawa Eriol was expecting Daidouji Tomoyo at his house one morning before coming to school. Between the doorbell ringing and someone answering the door, a ball of light materialized in the middle of the living room. Afterwhich, five kids with Clow Reed's aura stared at Eriol with incredulous eyes. When Eriol heard a sweet-sounding voice coming from the hall, realization dawned upon him, then all he saw was black.


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Guess I didn't put disclaimers last time. So what? I don't think I would be sued. And copyright infringement and such have _allowable violations_ for purposes of education and such. But I do love CLAMP. Except for the fact that Eriol and Tomoyo are non-canon. Hehehe.

Thanks so much to MoonLove Angel and chainedheart999 for reviewing.

To **Kaho wut? **who was an unsigned reviewer, yes, I do intend to mention the romantic angles between Eriol and Kaho, and between Tomoyo and Sakura. But, as most ExT fics, Kaho would be part of the past, or soon to be part of the past. Depends on where my idle hands would bring me. The guardians are treated like family. Like aunts and uncles to the kids. But it's still my dilemma if the kids would call her/him Nakuru-bachan, since it's weird to call Spinel Sun oji-san. Hahaha! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Special thanks too to all those who subscribed to this story: **Naka-Miharu-Mura, rizeleth**, and **Thornspike.**

CHAPTER I

For the umpteenth time, high school senior Hiiiragizawa Eriol readjusted his tie in front of the mirror before he shrugged into his pale blue Seijou High uniform's jacket. His guardians were watching him with an amused twinkle in their eyes.

"Eriol-sama your tie is lopsided to the right," Nakuru informed her master.

"Ah, it is? It couldn't be helped then," Eriol surveyed himself in the mirror, then he removed his jacket and redid his tie. Nakuru immediately turned her back against her master so that he would not notice the snicker that threatened to escape from her lips.

Spinel Sun hovered near the two then he raised an eyebrow as a question to Nakuru. The latter mouthed the word "Tomoyo" and the sun guardian nodded his little head in understanding.

The feline then hissed, "the tie wasn't crooked at all, was it?"

"Of course it wasn't! It's just that you can't fool Eriol-sama that easily under normal circumstances. And I think it's just too _kawaii _that master is capable of crushing on someone like a regular school boy," Nakuru whispered her reply rather loudly, though Eriol was too preoccupied to notice anyway. "I bet Tomoyo-chan would be here any minute now. I could feel master's aura getting stronger and I bet he's getting anxious now."

Both of the guardians are already used to the sudden surges in the aura of their master as his mood changes, especially if it concerns a certain amethyst-eyed goddess. However, the aura continued on getting stronger as if the owner is using magical powers of a great extent. Nakuru and Spinel Sun both stared at their master, half-expecting and half-hoping that he was casting a spell to explain the great gush of magical power in the air. But Eriol was just as stupefied as they were. Though they were not really that alarmed for the aura was that of Clow's.

The three occupants of the room watched as a ball of light materialized in the middle of the living room. It steadily increased in size, almost swallowing up the whole room, before it turned into a sudden flash that momentarily blinded the observers.

Collective grunts and moans could be heard after several loud thuds before everyone could recover from the shock. When the light cleared, three pair of midnight blue eyes exactly like his own, and two pairs of rather familiar purple eyes stared back at Eriol. A faint sound of the doorbell drifted into the room, but everyone was too stunned to take notice of it. After a few moments of everyone blinking idiotically at each other, the toddler in the young lady's arms called out to Eriol, "To-chan!"

Eriol's eyes almost popped out from their sockets. The little kid with the aura similar to his exclaimed something that suspiciously sounded like _father. _There was also a nagging feeling inside him that he thought he had heard a bell, and that bell sound should mean something significant to him. Eriol averted his eyes from one kid to another, noting the similarities in their features, realization starting to dawn upon him. Then his eyes finally settled on a little girl who had midnight blue eyes and long wavy hair. Except for her coloring, the girl looked exactly like--!

'_It was the doorbell! It means she must be here already!' _as Eriol was about to turn and rush to the door in hopes of salvaging the situation or at least not making things worse , he heard a familiar voice call out his name.

"Eriol-kun," Tomoyo wandered into the living room oblivious of the tension in the room, "nobody was answering the door. I hope you don't mind that I had let myself in."

Eriol stared in shock at Tomoyo. He then gave furtive glances to the kids in the room and they had similar wide-eyed expressions as they stared at Tomoyo. Eriol had a feeling that something would go terribly wrong. His mind worked frantically to try to prevent that something from happening, even though he didn't have a single idea what it was. He was about to speak up when a little voice beat him to it.

The toddler held out his arms to Tomoyo and he called out, "Ka-chan!"

Eriol's mind whirled as he tried to process the implications of the situation. And then he saw black.

***

_Eriol-kun... Eriol-kun..._

Eriol slowly opened his eyes to reveal a slightly blurry image of Tomoyo. He mumbled out her name and he was almost sure he had a sheepish smile on his face. Well it doesn't matter, since he is allowed to be as idiotic as he wants to be in his dreams. He was already used to waking up with an image of Tomoyo in his head. But as he started to collect his thoughts, he realized that it was already the second time it happened in the day. It means he had already woken up earlier in the morning, so how come he could see Tomoyo in front of him? He bolted to sit up as warm and gentle hands tried to steady him and push him back down.

"Not so fast Eriol-kun. Maybe you should lie down for a while,"

"What happened?"

"You suddenly fainted, then Nakuru-san brought you over to this couch," Tomoyo was seating near the edge of the couch beside Eriol's waist. Upon realizing this unprecedented proximity coupled with the embarrassment of fainting in front of a crowd, Eriol considerably reddened.

"Daijoubu desu ka Eriol-kun? Your face is kind of red, maybe you have a fever," Tomoyo proceeded to touch her palms to his forehead before placing them on Eriol's cheeks, "you ARE warm. I knew it when you sneezed twice yesterday and yet you still insisted that I should have your scarf when you were walking me home. There was a slight draft then. You might have caught a cold."

Nakuru snickered in the background as Eriol threw a glare at her direction.

"Nakuru-san, you shouldn't laugh at your master. I am sure he is already embarrassed enough as it is," Tomoyo chastised the moon guardian, but her tone actually betrayed that she is the one more amused with the situation. Eriol cringed at that.

"But Tomoyo-sama! Eriol-sama never caught a cold before!"

Eriol threw her another glare. He had repeated himself too many times already that his guardians should not use the honorific. Moreover, while it was true that the great Hiiragizawa Eriol could only catch a cold when he would permit himself to, Nakuru should not give Tomoyo ideas so that the latter might realize the real reason why Eriol's face was burning-up.

"Then the more reason that Eriol catching a cold is something we should worry about! I know now!" Tomoyo clapped her hands as an idea popped into her head, "you should not bother to come to school for today anymore Eriol-kun. I will tell the teacher that you are ill. And what you need is a serving of the good 'ole chicken soup. You do have broth in the fridge, don't you?"

"No, we don't have any. And T-tomoyo-san! You came here this early in the morning so that we could go over your piece for the school festival. You should not let yourself be bothered by preparing me food. I'd just ask Nakuru to... well... uh... buy me something from the store," as always, Tomoyo was personally asked by the school director himself to sing in the program, and Eriol was the only one good enough to accompany her.

"Nonsense Eriol-kun! You won't get your needed nutrition from store-bought food. Aren't you an advocate yourself of home-cooked meals?" Tomoyo ended the argument by standing up and whipping out her mobile phone to call up the head of her female bodyguards; it was a signal that her decision was final. "Souma-san? I need you to bring me the chicken broth I prepared last night. - - - Hai, it's the one with the blue lid in the fridge, - - - hai, I'm still in Eriol-kun's house," Tomoyo proceeded to enumerate the other ingredients she needed for the soup, "oh, and bring over some clothes too. Size 6 for toddlers - - yes you heard me right. It's for a little boy. Then dresses for a 6-year old - - hai, then a 10-year old boy too," Tomoyo's eyes kept roaming around the other occupants of the room, "then new clothes my size, and new clothes about the size of Eriol. And lastly, baby food, feeding bottles and formula milk. - - Hai, that would be all. Thank you very much!" She finally pressed a button in her mobile and had on an accomplished look on her face.

Eriol was almost bewildered when she heard Tomoyo asking for clothes to be brought over. But then he remembered the real reason he fainted in the first place. Sitting in another couch not too far from his were two kids probably around their age, a grade-schooler boy, a kindergarten-aged girl, and a toddler sitting on the lap of the girl their age. Sure they were relatively silent, but the tot was making rather cute cooing sounds, and it amazed him why he hadn't noticed earlier.

"How do pancakes sound guys?" Tomoyo beamed at the kids sitting with rather forlorn expressions on their faces.

The little girl instantly brightened-up and blushed as she stammered out a request, "anou, could you make the ones shaped like letters? Or maybe like little animals?"

"How did you know I love making them? You must be able to read my mind! Would you like to help me out?" Tomoyo offered her hand to the little girl as the latter shyly nodded her head. She didn't know what exactly happened, but she felt that Eriol's guests just went through an experience that scared them. She felt that the kids needed some cheering up.

"I'll help too!" the little boy jumped off from his seat and he shot up his arm in the air which emphasized the fact that he was volunteering.

"That would be perfect!"

"Anou, oka—Iie, T-tomoyo-san, we would love to help you out in the kitchen but, well you see uh... Oniisan and I need to talk to err... our _ cousin _Eriol-san," Sonoko, the girl with the long straight hair, said.

Tomoyo gave her the most understanding smile, "don't think about it too much. I also felt that there was something important you need to talk about. I figured it could be a little too delicate for the younger kids and so I'm taking them with me. Should I take Kurorii from you too?" Tomoyo asked the question but she already offered her arms to the toddler. She supposed that a child who was beginning to learn how to talk could already pick-up a lot from the conversations around him. The two elder of the siblings gave their curt thank yous as they watched Tomoyo herd the younger kids away, mumbling how they should first clean-up – Tomoko and Yoru were still filled with dust from the shed – and how she whisked away Nakuru with them, claiming that she would need help taking care of the three kids. Daidouji Tomoyo's efficiency could be scary as hell. Spinel Sun, on the other hand, as he is the more perceptive of the guardians, floated his way out of the room to give his Master some privacy.

When they were safely out of earshot, Eriol sat up properly and faced the two teenagers in front of him. He need not ask questions as his patient silence was enough to convey that he was waiting for an explanation.

Eiri gripped the material of his pants near his knees then his sister slid her hand into his to give it a gentle squeeze. That seemed to be the charm as the lad started to relax, and after an audible sigh, he proceeded to tell their story.

"Hiiragizawa Eriol-san. As you may have already sensed, we possess an aura similar to yours. It is precisely because our powers came from you. And well... uh... we, ourselves, came from you. We hail from the future. After an inexplicable incident, we found ourselves travelling back into time, apparently, to a period long before any of us were born. As it was magic that brought us here, it should be magic that would bring us back to our time."

"Yes. I figured as much. Because of your auras, you children could only either be my ascendants or descendants. But I know everyone of the former, so you could only be of the latter. You ARE my own children, aren't you? It's because I've also figured out who your mother is," Eriol began rubbing his temples to relieve himself of his growing headache.

"The resemblance is uncanny. I could see her in both of you in your every move. But I could also see my own self in you. It's quite, well... disarming," Eriol permitted himself to smile affectionately at the two teenagers in front of him, "why don't you tell me more about yourselves?"

"I'm Hiiragizawa Eiri, eighteen years of age," the lad smiled back at his father.

"Hiiragizawa Sonoko desu, seventeen years old," the smile on the young woman's face tugged at Eriol's heartstrings. He felt a strong force in her personality that reminded him of Daidouji-sama. She was probably named after her.

"The _gaki _is ten years old, he's Yoru," Eiri proceeded to rattle off the names of his siblings, "the prettiest little thing is Tomoko, she's six," he was rather more affectionate when he mentioned the little girl.

"She looks just like okaasan, doesn't she?" Sonoko interposed.

"And finally, the littlest one is Eriol," Eiri watched as his father raised an eyebrow at that, "yes, you named him after yourself. But we call him _Kurorii." _Eriol then raised his other eyebrow for it.

"And yes, you hate that nickname so much too," Sonoko chuckled.

"Okaasan, the Tomoyo in this time of course, does not know of Kurorii's real name. Oh wait, Sonoko-chan blurted his real name was supposed to be Kurogane, but that's irrelevant already," Eiri paused to watch his sister turn a sheepish grin on him, "anyway, we figured that it would be more suspicious if you had the same name with our brother. Okaasan rather has very sharp senses. We told her we are your cousins from England,"

"We didn't have any belongings with us, so I told okaasan we teleported ourselves from England because our parents are on a vacation, and that a glitch in our powers made our stuff get left behind. I knew she had seen enough magic for her to believe us." Sonoko, this time, filled in his father with the details of what happened while he was out cold.

"I see... that certainly is plausible enough," Eriol was rubbing his chin, "given the short time you had, to come up with an excuse for your presence here, that is actually quite brilliant," he stared at his future children with pride in his eyes, "because your –ahem– mother, if you had given her a rational explanation, she would have had her suspicions, and she could try to find out more. But since you gave magic as the explanation, she would already stop at that," Eriol didn't realize how awkward it was for him to refer to Tomoyo as the mother of his children.

Eiri and Sonoko looked at each other and silently communicated that they never realized the Nakuru from their time was actually right in describing their father as a gushing school boy with the biggest crush on their mother. Well of course, in their time, their father had always gloated that it was their mother who had chased after him.

"I would certainly research on how I would send you kids safely back to your time while ascertaining that your presence here would not make an impact that could change the future," Eriol, for the second time, bestowed upon them the rare gift of his genuine smile, "but if you don't mind, maybe you could stay for a little while. I certainly would not mind your presence over here."

The two adolescents knew that their father meant his words, even though he is yet to experience how crazy it is to live with five of his own kids.

Tsuzuku

Next Chapter's Preview: The class of 3-C has two new transfer students. Li Shaoran wants to go on a murderous spree. And a grade school boy from the neighboring Tomoeda Elementary School joins them for lunch.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update! I meant to update much sooner but school started and things got C.R.A.Z.Y.!!! Hope Xmas break is soon enough and I could update much faster then.

Thanks to my reviewers: MoonLove Angel, ccsread, tomoyo-amethyst, dontclickmyname, rizaleth, Princess of Altea-170, and cheng.

Thanks also to all those who put me in their favorites and/or alerts lists: **Lycrea, i love muffins yay, KyteAura, sha xd, **and** Firefly Orain Xi-Wang.**

I hope I didn't miss anyone. Believe me, I tried my best and I went through my mail a couple of times to check. Some reviews didn't appear on the site, so I wanna blame ffnet if I did leave out someone. Teehee! Really, thank you so all so much! I am overwhelmed... and humbled.

***

Chapter II

"Hiiragizawa, why didn't you take another day off? We heard from Tomoyo-san that you were burning up with a fever yesterday," Li Shaoran stalked into the room as he saw Eriol sitting in his usual spot behind Tomoyo. He then mumbled a good morning to Tomoyo as the latter answered back with a smile.

"Why, my dear darling descendant!" Eriol placed a hand on his chest for more effect, "I didn't know you cared about me that much!"

Shaoran stilled his vein that was threatening to pop, "I only meant that I enjoyed myself immensely yesterday since you were not here! Why don't you just go home Hiiragizawa! And never come back here! Hmph!" Shaoran huffed his way to his seat beside Tomoyo.

"That's what I told him too Shaoran-kun, he should just have rested for today," Tomoyo shifted in her seat to face Eriol behind her, "your fever could come back Eriol-kun."

Eriol cleared his throat to hide the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks. He didn't notice that Shaoran sent a murderous glare his way.

"Thanks for the concern Tomoyo-san, but Eiri and Sonoko are coming today,"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot about your cousins,"

"Hiiragizawa's cousins?" Shaoran did not really want to reveal he was listening on his friends' conversation. But as far as he knew, his clan was the closest relatives of Eriol, because the latter almost just literally popped out of nowhere.

"Err yeah..." Eriol glared at Shaoran to keep him from saying out more, "MY cousins. Your distant relatives too, Li Shaoran. If you felt a sudden surge in my powers since yesterday, well it was because of them arriving in my house yesterday. They rather have an almost identical aura with mine."

"Sudden surge in your power huh? I kind of sensed it all the way to my place. But it was early in the morning, so I figured you might have just been taking care of some... uh... manly business," Shaoran gave him the cheekiest grin he could muster. Who would have known that the naive Shaoran would somehow grow into a normal adolescent boy with a dirty mind?

Eriol delicately coughed to hide the fact that what Shaoran said was not that far away from the truth. Had he not been expecting Tomoyo that morning, he would have been just preparing for school, and therefore still taking care of a predicament a lot of adolescent boys find themselves in after they get out of bed. Eriol was sure Shaoran had often took care of such _manly business _himself, it's just that he was slightly scandalized as Tomoyo was just sitting in front of him, and she might have heard what Shaoran said.

Thankfully, the songstress's attention was occupied by their other classmates making their way into the room, and by Sakura who managed to step into the classroom as the bell began to chime.

"Ohayou Sakura-chan!"

"Ohayou Tomoyo-chan! Ohayou Eriol-kun... Ohayou Shaoran-kun," she gave an affectionate smile at her boyfriend before she settled herself to sit in front of him.

The rest of the class mumbled their morning greetings to each other, before the classroom door slid open to reveal the form of their homeroom adviser, Morishita-sensei.

"Ohayou gozaimasu minna-san,"

"Ohayou gozaimasu Morishita-sensei,"

"Since our school festival is nearing, as I promised last week, today, we will be talking about what project your class would carry out in the said festival. We would also be assigning students to lead the project. But before we delve into that, I am going to introduce two exchange students from England," the teacher signalled to the doorway for the students to enter the room. "They will be part of your class for an indefinite period of time. But certainly, they will be here for the festival so be thankful for the extra pairs of hands that will help out in your preparations. Please introduce yourselves,"

"My name is Hiiragizawa Eiri, I am a senior just like you from a high school in England. We were born and raised there, but we are of Japanese descent. _Yoroshiku onegai shimasu,_" a tall boy with messy midnight blue hair and purple eyes bowed his head in front of the class.

The class started murmuring 'Hiiragizawa' and most of the eyes turned to Eriol, especially Shaoran's and Sakura's.

"I'm his younger sister, Hiiragizawa Sonoko. If you are wondering about our surname, Eriol-san is actually our cousin. We are staying with him for the meantime and his being our relative is also the reason why we were assigned to this class. _Yoroshiku onegai shimasu," _it was Sonoko's turn to bow her head in front of the class. There were appreciative murmurs and glances by the students to the newcomers. Both were certified lookers, and if the Hiiragizawa gene truly ran in their blood, their looks are certainly coupled with brains.

Most of the class positively accepted the Hiiragizawas' story, except for the two non-Hiiragizawa magic users in the class. Both could sense the identical auras of the exchange students, and it was easy enough to trace a family tree from the magical powers the two emitted. Sakura was pleasantly surprised when she traced the lineage of the two Hiiragizawas standing in front of the class through her powers. However, Shaoran was rather pissed-off. He did not have Sakura's power to confirm that the Hiiragizawas' auras were identical with each other, but he had been living in paranoia for some time, having noticed how much attention the proud mage had been bestowing the Daidouji heiress with, and so he had seen enough to start to form conclusions in his head. He started throwing Eriol his most murderous glares.

Somebody in the class asked, "excuse me, but since you are in the same grade, are the two of you twins?"

Sonoko seemed to have been waiting for that question as she readily answered, "nope! We are ten months apart. After my mother gave birth to my brother, my father only let her rest for a month and then he couldn't control himself anymore!"

Eiri sighed in resignation as if he had heard the thing thousands of times before. The class laughed out loud while Eriol began choking himself to death, and his red face was automatically associated with such choking. Tomoyo got up from her chair to thump him on his back, but she, as the rest of the class, assumed that he was just surprised by the boldness of his cousin. Because of Eriol's extreme reaction, Shaoran did not need any more confirmation as he stood up shaking his fist in rage at the mage, "Why, you little piece of--!"

Sakura came to the rescue as she managed to restrain her boyfriend in time. By this time, the class had stopped laughing to gape at the ruckus Li was raising, "I am honestly going to kill you Hiiragizawa! You better be good at hiding because I won't stop until I've squeezed out every single drop of life from you!"

"Li Shaoran!" Morishita-sensei raised his voice in such a way that would have made a lesser man cower in fear, "what is this commotion all about? And what is with your language young man? It is not befitting of a highly educated lad such as yourself."

Eriol stood up to defend his friend, "Morishita-sensei. I apologize in Li Shaoran's stead. Most of the class probably already know that Shaoran and I are distant relatives. Thus, he is also distantly related to them," Eriol held out his hand to point at the two students standing in front of the class. "It's just that Shaoran has a rather... err... sour relationship with Eiri-kun and Sonoko-chan's father. It is actually my fault that I have not warned Shaoran beforehand. His actions are perfectly justifiable. If punishment is due anyone, then I, and no one else, deserve such," Eriol finished his speech with a flourish.

His charm effectively worked to pacify the teacher, "very well then. Family matters are delicate and it is beyond my rights to interfere with such matters. Since Hiiragizawa Eriol-san explained the matters quite clearly, I would let Li-kun get off scot-free. However," he turned to look sternly at Li, "I trust that this won't happen again. Do we understand each other, young man?"

"Hai sensei... gomen... Hontou ni gomen nasai,"

"Hiiragizawa-kun uh... Eiri-kun, you can take the seat behind Li-kun, and Hiiragizawa Sonoko-san, you take the seat in front of Daidouji-san,"

Tomoyo gave a little wave at Sonoko before she settled herself in front of her. Sakura, who was on the seat on Sonoko's left, whispered something to her ear. Sonoko nodded her head enthusiastically as she whispered back to Sakura, "sharp as ever, Sakura-basan."

"Obasan? Oh!" Sakura covered her mouth as she giggled uncontrollably.

On the other hand, Eiri made his way to his seat. But as he passed Shaoran, he placed his hand on the latter's shoulder. The brunet was obviously still fuming, and Eiri wanted to calm him down a bit. Shaoran did not like the idea of an Eriol-look-alike approaching him, but when he stared into his eyes, he realized that he was staring into Daidouji's purple eyes. Iie, it's just that Eiri's eyes were an exact replica of Tomoyo's. And they contained the same magic that could easily disarm Shaoran's temper. The way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, that was definitely from the Daidoujis. Shaoran found himself surprisingly fond of the newcomers, when moments ago he vowed that he would probably hate them.

***

Six teenagers made their way under the shade of a big sakura tree; then one of them laid down a checkered cloth for all of them to sit on. Sakura pulled out a bento box from the pink paper bag beside her and handed it to Shaoran. Simultaneously, Tomoyo pulled out her bento box from a purple lunch bag and placed it on her lap. She then seemed to pull out something else from her bag, but she hesitated and put it back.

As Sakura took out her own bento box, she noticed that the three Hiiragizawas were only holding breads which were most probably bought from their school canteen, "hoeee... you guys are only having that?"

The two mumbled their assents. Then Sakura proceeded to chastise her friend, "Eriol-kun, why didn't you prepare lunch for them? I'm sure they're used to having their parents prepare their bentos for them. Now that they are here with you, it's your responsibility to take care of them."

Eiri and Sonoko smiled fondly at Sakura as they felt her being protective of them. They just chose to ignore the fact that they were old enough to know how to cook, or have someone from their class prepare lunch for them for that matter. The older of the siblings noticed how their father seemed a little embarrassed so he decided to rescue him, "Sakura-ba... aherm... Kinomoto-san, Eriol-san did try to prepare lunch for us."

"Yes, _try _being the operative word," Sonoko interjected.

Eriol seemed to want to say something but no sound came out of his mouth. His mind was recalling the happenings just that morning.

***

_The frying pan was already over the fire and his hand was already poised to crack an egg with one hand when he heard Little Eriol crying through the baby monitor he had placed on the kitchen counter. He turned off the gas stove and he made his way into the makeshift nursery they have put together for his toddler._

_Nakuru popped out her head into the hallway from her room; but Eriol signalled that he would take care of the baby. He managed to bring Kurorii into the kitchen relatively peacefully. He placed the tot in his high chair near the breakfast table and the young 'un seemed to understand that he was about to be fed. Eriol took out a feeding bottle filled with milk from the fridge then he popped it in the microwave for a few seconds. After testing the temperature, he handed him his bottle as his child was old enough to grasp it. Just when he expected him to start drinking his milk, Kurorii threw the bottle on the floor._

"_No! Juice! No juice! Apel juice!"_

_Eriol picked up the bottle and handed it back to his namesake, "Hey son... uhm... Junior... Little Eriol, Here's your milk. Drink it up! It's yummy! It's good for you! It will make you taller. You'd grow up faster."_

_The teenage dad proceeded to bribe his son with the merits of drinking milk at a young age, however, his pleas fell deaf on the ears of the tot. They went through a couple of cycles of the baby throwing the bottle and the father picking it up and reasoning with the former. Such was the scene Eiri and Sonoko walked into._

"_Otousan, Kurorii drinks juice in the morning. In a cup. I think okaasan bought one yesterday," Eiri rummaged through the cupboards._

"_Otousan, do you want me to cook breakfast?" Sonoko offered._

"_No, no... I'll take care of it. What do you kids want? Kidneys? Bacon? Eggs? And of course some toast right?" Eriol began raiding the fridge when he heard a different voice crying._

"_Thomasina... Thomasina is lost... She left..." Tomoko cried in between hiccups. She ambled into the kitchen as she rubbed her eyes in a vain attempt to dry them._

_As Eriol turned to his older children to ask who Thomasina was, Eiri answered, "It's her doll otousan. She brings it everywhere she goes. When she wakes up without it by her side, she'll cry for approximately an hour."_

_When Eriol knotted his eyebrows, Sonoko further informed him, "As early as when Tomoko was about a year old, she would throw tantrums that last for an hour. She stares at the clock and stops by herself on the right time. You could make her stop if you adjust the clock and show it to her."_

_Tomoko made her way in front of her father before her wails got louder. She was already coughing in between her sobs and it pained Eriol to see her suffering. He glanced at his older kids as if for moral support, then he held out his hands to lift up his young daughter. She then wound her arms around his neck quite tightly. She clung as if for dear life. Eriol stroked her back and mumbled vague assurances, but it only did little to soothe her._

_The last of his kids finally found his way into the kitchen, "Otousan. Is okaasan coming for breakfast? She could make Tomoko stop crying if she sees her."_

"_No, Yoru-kun. I know you already understand the situation. She has no reason why she would come here this early in the morning."_

"_She could cook us breakfast like she always does in the future," Yoru grinned his most seemingly innocent smile._

_Eriol absorbed the insinuation and he realized that it was true he hasn't started cooking breakfast yet. But his hands were full as Tomoko was still in his arms. He then finally noticed a thumping sound and he saw Kurorii banging his cup on his tray and juice was sputtering out from the spout of his cup. When a drunk Spinnel Sun whizzed into the room followed closely by Nakuru, Eriol realized that he had to concede that somebody else would have to start cooking breakfast._

_Changing diapers... changing clothes... braiding hair... cleaning up... feline babysitter... drop off at the kindergarten... then the grade school... and finally their high school... Eriol's mind whirled in recall._

***

Four spectators watched as Tomoyo offered a bento box in front of Eriol. She earlier said that she already bought ingredients good for two people as she usually prepares Eriol's bento for him. Though it was surely not enough for all of them, she hopes they could all share the lunches she prepared, including hers of course. But Eriol seemed lost in his reveries, and Tomoyo's hand remained suspended in front of him.

A fierce aura was suddenly directed on their location and Shaoran almost jumped into a defensive stance if not for the fact that his instincts had already categorized Clow's aura as _safe._ Instead, he directed his gaze, and the others did so as well, to a young version of Eriol. As the boy got closer, the only official couple in the group realized that the young boy had darker hair; otherwise, he was Eriol's clone, including the glasses.

He stomped his way into Eriol's side and he menacingly said, "Eriol-san, Tomoyo-san is talking to you."

If there were still any doubts that Eriol's attention was already with them, the little boy effectively quelled them. Eriol mumbled an apology. But before he could take the bento from Tomoyo's hand, someone else already took it away, "ah. It seems my cousin does not want this perfectly crafted lunch. But if permitted so, my humble self would like to accept this gift."

Shaoran was scandalized as the Eriol he remembered in fourth grade materialized in his face, "who the hell is this kid?"

"Bon jour mademoiselle. Je m'appelle Yoru. Hiiragizawa Yoru," the boy managed to immediately draw up to Sakura and kiss her hand. Shaoran almost shouted in agony but he was detracted by Eiri's next statement.

"He's our younger brother,"

"How many kids are you exactly?"

"Five,"

"What?!? There's that many of you?!?"

"But Shaoran-san, I bet you won't be far behind," Sonoko then decided to whisper the rest of her sentence to his ear, "in my time, you already have three boys and one little girl."

Li Shaoran turned redder than what was thought was humanly possible. He hid his embarrassment by gobbling down his food while Sakura was reminding him in the background that he could choke if he ate that fast. Meanwhile, Yoru was commenting on how Tomoyo cooks as good as his mother does. And when he was asked how he got to the high school grounds, he said that he jumped over the fence that separated Tomoeda Elementary School and Seijou high. As Eiri whacked his brother's head for using magic, the girls seemed to remain amused over the situation.

Eriol, amidst the starting chaos around him, tore the wrapper off the bread in his hands then he read the label: _Melon bread. Tomoeda Grade School Cafeteria._

Tsuzuku

***

Nota bene:

Trivia: Yoru was born in Paris, France. What Yoru said, according to our friend **freyasakura** is French for "Hello miss, I call myself Yoru. Hiiragizawa Yoru". (thanks for the info dear!) He is quite the mama's boy, so if you didn't get why he was hostile towards Eriol, it was because he was being protective of his mom. Even if he's his father, he hates it that he was ignoring his mum.

I love reading Dame Agatha Christie's and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works. The characters usually eat kidneys for breakfast, and from google I think it's lambs' kidneys. Gave me the impression they are very English. Teehee. For years now, I've wanted to write an ExT, but I can't seem to write their dialogues as formal as I want to. Thanks to the dame and knight that I worship, my vocabulary improved, and felt formal enough. (for me! Haha!)

Thomasina was a name I encountered in the dozens of the mystery books I've read. Before then, I didn't know that _Thomas _had a female version. My research said that it is Aramaic in origin and it means "twins". It was the 2nd choice for the name I wanted and searched for and it seemed to fit as the doll and Tomoko are supposed to be inseparable. But alas, Thomasina was left in the future!

***

Next chapter's preview: Child from the future bonding with parent. Some secrets of the past revealed. Broken hearts weep then heal. Why Eriol stopped playing the piano. How he started playing again. Why he decided to call Tomoeda home. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Coming to you in December... ^_^


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